DRAKENSBERG - Magnificent Mountain

[ ISBN 978-0-620-38603-6 ]

This project finally came to an end after two years. It is always sad to leave a region which became our home away from home for quite a long time.

Like all projects of this kind, it had its ups and downs - that's what makes the photography interesting and worthwhile. The worst part is to leave our friends behind. Below are a few incidents during this project - some "Funny" and others "Not so Funny"...

I love this hike!
Hiking and documenting routes for our hiking guide "DRAKENSBERG - 20 Best Day Hikes In 10 Regions", it sometimes happened that I got "lost" while searching for the correct path or junctions. Fortunately I used a GPS at all times to record the route and could easily return to a "before-I-got-lost" point.
I was hiking the very pleasant (and challenging) "Marble Baths and Cave" route at Injisuthi. Walking next to the Injisuthi River, one has to cross the river at some stage to move into the Buttress Fork Stream valley. At this crossing, which is actually the confluence of three streams, I took the path going into the middle stream's valley (wrong way!) After 20 minutes I realised it was the wrong valley. Instead of moving back, I decided to take a short-cut over the ridge to my right to get to the next valley. While bundu-bashing trying to get over and around this ridge to the bottom of this valley, I decided to return to the "before-I-got-lost" point. I got to this point and the rest of the hike went uneventful.
It was only when I later downloaded the GPS track that I realised why I liked (loved) this hike so much! Below is a copy op the original GPS track:

Day one in the ‘Berg.
Besides a little one-man hikers tent (which I use in an emergency only), I packed a proper four-man canvas dome tent to be my home for my first two weeks in the ‘Berg.
Booked at Monk’s Cowl Camp, I made an effort to clear and level the area before setting up camp. After everything was unpacked, it was time to pitch the tent. The canvas was spread out and properly fastened. Next the tent poles and ... – no tent poles!! I packed the gazebo’s poles instead…and no gazebo either!!
I slept in the open but when it started raining on day 3, I declared an emergency and stayed for the rest of the time in my hikers tent.

Strike One.
Oom Sarel and I went up the chain ladders and spent the first night in Crow’s Nest Cave. Our plan was to traverse the escarpment up to the Mnweni Pass.
The next day, an hour after setting off, the mist closed in and soon we were lost in the white-out. To be safe, we decided to set up camp and wait for the mist to clear. By mid-day the mist got denser and we heard rumble in the distance.
Just before dark the storm hit us! Rain, hail and wind buffeted the tent for the next two hours. During a lull I sneaked a look out of the tent – the sky above has cleared! To my horror I realized that we have pitched the tent some 70 meters from the edge of the escarpment! The wind could have blown us over the edge!
In the valley below the Amphitheater the storm continued. I decided to get some lightning shots of the storm. I managed to get two long exposure shots when suddenly a bolt came over the edge of the escarpment and struck the ground meters away from us! (17 paces – I measured it the next morning). I dived back into the tent where Oom Sarel was calmly chewing on a piece of biltong. “That was close” he said. He then tried to convince me that the chance of being struck by lightning was statistically zero…

Luck - the right time at the right place.
Our task: take a real close-up picture of the Devil’s Tooth.
To get the best results, we had to wait until the very last light and also before the Tooth was covered in shadow. My GPS indicated that the time difference between sunset and moonrise was only 17 minutes. With a bit of luck we could catch the moon in the pic. For this Oom Sarel had to carry my 9kg 600mm lens all the way beyond the Witches.
While the sun was setting, the shadows of the Sentinel and Western Buttress were closing in fast on the tooth. I started taking pics.
Then the moon rose in the gap between the Tooth and the Eastern Buttress. There was a race between the shadows and the rising moon. The 600mm lens helped to magnify the moon. Just before the shadows closed in on the tooth, the moon broke free and I took several good shots. Two minutes later it was all over…

The ghost of the shaman.
I visited a rock art site to photograph some Bushman paintings during nighttime. I obtained permission and at 16:00 the guide and I arrived at the site.
I took a few pics in last light and before sunset my camera and lighting setup was done.
While waiting for complete darkness, I had a conversation with my guide about the Bushman shamans. We spoke about their spirits and how sacred the place was. I mentioned how special it was to be there at night. I also joked about a shaman that may just reveal himself to us. The guide seemed to become very uneasy…
During one of the longer exposures, I set the lens on a wider angle to get the guide(without him knowing it) in the picture. I then shone my torch onto his face for a few seconds. He did not know what I was doing - I even apologized for shining the light in his face. The result: I created a picture of the paintings with a perfect transparent face hanging in mid-air!
I showed this pic to the guide and that was the end of our conversation! He only spoke to me again when we returned to the rock art center after midnight. The guide convinced everyone there that he saw a shaman. I had to recreate the picture there and then to calm them down. I also promised not to tell…

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